Wynn Resorts Receives Upgrade to Buy From Jefferies

Shares of Wynn Resorts (WYNN - Get Report) rose on Monday after the casino and resort operator received an upgrade and 12-month price target lift from Jefferies.

Shares of Wynn gained nearly 3%, rising $3.76 to $44.63 on the Nasdaq Stock Market, after Jefferies analyst David Katz upgraded the company's stock to a buy from a hold, and raised his one-year price target on the stock to $170 from $119.

In a research note to clients, Katz cited better-than-expected revenue from the firm's Macau operations as well as room for additional improvement this year, which should help boost the company's earnings going forward.

He also pointed to recent gaming-license extensions and other concessions granted to some of Wynn's competitors in the popular Asian gaming region, which in turn should ease concerns over Wynn's ability to secure a renewal of its own gaming license.

MGM Resorts (MGM - Get Report) announced last month that Macau had agreed to extend the gaming license of its China units by two years, easing concerns about how U.S. operators would be treated in the Asian gaming capital.

Meantime, Las Vegas Sands (LVS - Get Report) last month reached a settlement to end a 15-year breach-of-contract battle between it and a Hong Kong businessman who helped the company open its first casino in the Chinese gambling enclave.

Macau casinos brought in $3.2 billion in revenue in March, according to Macau's Gaming Inspection and Coordination, the highest figure recorded so far in 2019. The total represented a 0.4% decline from the same period a year ago.